Chandigarh, March 23 (NationPress) Punjab's Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema announced on Saturday that the state's excise revenue has experienced remarkable cumulative growth over the past three years, increasing from ₹6,254 crore to over ₹10,200 crore.

He stated that for the first time in the history of Punjab, the excise revenue is set to surpass the five-digit figure, with a projected target of ₹10,145 crore for the fiscal year 2024-25 likely to be exceeded.

The Finance Minister praised the accomplishments of the Excise Department, noting that the success of the tendering process has paved the way for a fourth consecutive year of significant growth.

He mentioned that the department has received an overwhelming response in its current e-tendering process for granting retail liquor licenses for 2025-26.

Additionally, the department has established a reserve price of ₹9,017 crore for 207 retail liquor groups.

As of March 20, 179 of these groups, which account for 87 percent of the total, have been successfully allotted, yielding a discovered price of ₹8,681 crore along with an additional ₹871 crore as premium against a reserved price of ₹7,810 crore.

The Finance Minister expressed optimism about reaching the ambitious goal of ₹11,020 crore for the upcoming fiscal year.

He stated that the significant interest in the e-tendering process indicates that the department may exceed this target, potentially reaching close to ₹11,800 crore, which would represent a 16 percent increase over the previous year's excise revenue.

Minister Cheema also seized the moment to criticize past administrations led by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance and the Congress for their inability to enhance excise revenue.

He highlighted that under the Congress government from 2002 to 2007, excise revenue fell by 6.9 percent, dropping from ₹1,462 crore in 2002 to ₹1,363 crore in 2007.

He emphasized that during the decade of SAD-BJP governance, the term "mafia" became synonymous with administration, and excise revenue decreased from ₹4,796 crore in 2015-16 to ₹4,400 crore in 2016-17 due to an excise policy favoring cronies.

He remarked that the Congress regime from 2017 to 2022 followed a similar pattern, with excise revenue stagnating in the first three years, reaching only ₹6,200 crore by FY 2021-22.

He also recalled the unfortunate hooch tragedy during the Congress period, which resulted in the deaths of 128 economically disadvantaged individuals.